27.5 - The Deep Dive - No Death - Tokyo Osaka Kofu - Interview and Notes

Notes

Usagi - This is by far the shortest song on the album, but it acts like a good introduction for what is to come.  The atmosphere is light and active. Like a brooding excitement that is about to break free.  A whole new world is about to open up to us and now we are beginning to realize what it all means.  
The way that the synths are made here are really warm and organic despite being obviously artificial in nature.  It is a very nice contrast… how something obviously man made/synthetic can still have that beautiful quality that we hear in acoustic instruments.  The drums are active, especially the high hat.  I like that, it adds to the excitement of the track.  Overall this is an excellent start off to the album and always gets me interested in listening to the whole thing all the way through.  It's the start of a journey and gets me excited to go on it… even after 30-40 listens of the album.  

Otooto - As Usagi fades out Otooto fades in, much like going from one scene or memory to another.  THis track is much more deliberate and slow in pace to start, though the active drums do return later in the track.  The warmth that permeated track one are here again in spades, I love the synth pads that no death has put down here.  Just gives everything a feeling of nostalgia… or feeling like home.  
On top of the warm synth pads we get a simple and subtle melody that is played either on bottles or a xylophone, I can’t quite tell since its so far back in the mix.  And these two elements are what drives the song, they remain there despite everything else that is going on in the song.  I absolutely adore songs that do that, and this one is no exception, likely one of my favorite on the album here.
Eventually around 30 seconds in a bass guitar begins strumming slow, half notes.  Additional synths are added higher in the mix, and finally at 1 minute the drums are added in.  They are very active and sound like they are actually played live.  If they are programmed they sound extremely life-like.  Regardless, well done on the percussion.  It never distracts from the main instruments holding the melody, it just adds a very interesting back bone to the whole thing.  Something I can appreciate quite a bit.  
Piano and guitar alternate taking the lead on the instrumentation and just have me in a groove bobbing my head.  This whole track just is like taking in sight after sight, it keeps changing things up rather quickly, but at no place does it feel rushed.  Everything works together so perfectly.  Right at the very end we get a pan flute (?) synth that ties everything together and wraps up the song in a definitive way.  Just pure excellence, this was the first song that really got me to notice this album, and with good reason.

Knock Koenji - We go from an active song to a song that centers around a singular theme, a piano chord played in quarter notes.  This sounds like a railroad crossing, and sounds like something that would get annoying after just a few seconds… but that is where the composition skills of no death come into play.  This song remains listenable throughout despite the chord acting as the central focus.  Not only that but it acts as a backbone and honestly the song would be lacking without this element.
Ontop of the ‘railroad chord’ a piano plays a very simple and almost childlike innocence type melody.  This is where the song really begins to show its true colors, after just a few moments of this I knew I was going to be listening to something special.  The backing chord along side the piano melody really are the main things happening in this song, and they don’t really change much if at all during the 5 minute run time.  Again that would normally be a detractor with instrumentals as active as these are here, but somehow no death pulls this off.  It puts me into almost a trance the way that its composed, and we haven’t even gotten into the real meat of the song yet.
Now what puts this song to the next level is what happens a couple of minutes in.  A blanket of angelic synths are laid down ever so gently.  It sounds like a woman just giving us a calming lullaby as we weave through the seas of our imagination.  The entire time the railroad chord and piano melody are playing but they take on a completely different meaning here, what that meaning is I’m not sure, but they are transformed by the addition of these synths.  Man I love this, it takes me to another world where things are just a little bit less of a struggle, where life isn't as hard every day.  Honestly I have this track on repeat sometimes just because it lifts my spirits.  Just an absolutely outstanding song.

Environment 0g - At this point in the album we are solidly in the ambient phase.  A lot of the active elements of the fist two songs have been completely stripped away and we are left with a simpler approach, a more minimal take on music and emotions.  
The song here starts out with a beautiful synth pad that just feels like a warm blanket, I use that term a lot, but it really fits here.  The music is warm and welcoming.  It draws me in and makes me feel at home. It takes me in and wraps itself around me, like a warm winter quilt.
Alongside the synths there is a xylophone playing in the background with a very simple repeating tone.  It's buried in the mix so it's easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention.  It adds layers and texture but never takes away form that welcoming feeling that the synths have. Finally a bass guitar is layered in to bring in just a little bit of low end to the mix.  Again it's not mixed high so it doesn't distract from the main focus of the synth pads.  
Its at this point where I have to mention that the name of the song is very appropriate.  The song does provide a sort of floating feeling.  There is no true direction that the song is going until the very very end when another synth is added in above the pads and finally drives the song into a direction.  Not sure where exactly its driving but its the most significant change that the song sees in its short run time.  It fits perfectly into this portion of the album and draws us deeper into the sense of zen and peace that have permeated every song so far on the album.  

Atmosphere -space- - Take everything that was said about the previous track and amp it up to the next level.  The floating feeling is greater, the feeling of warmth and being lost is even greater.  There is no true melody going on throughout the runtime of this song, only a deep peace with our environment.  
This is the least musical that the album gets in a traditional sense.  There is a strong tribute to the early ambient album that Brian Eno did here as well, just a swell of sound rather than any particular musical notes or instrumentation going on.  
This song is music distilled into its essence, so much so that it may not even be music anymore… this is more just like an experience.  Reflecting on the song title this may be exactly what no death intended with this track.  Simply the vastness of space before me and I’m left here to take it all in and contemplate my meager existence.  Weightless, nothingness, peace.  

For Yuta - We are back to earth on this one.  The deep reflections of the previous track are quickly moved to the background here as the main synth already has a more active role than it did at any point in the previous track.  That’s not to say that this is hurried or rushed in any sense.  It merely is a reflection that there is a direction to the song and that there are note/chord progressions happening here instead of just the vastness of sound and space floating around us.
The song for some reason reminds me of watching the sun rise.  A simple ray of music starts, and then it slowly swells with different tones and melodies until right around 2 minutes the main melody begins and the sun has finally broken over the horizon.  This could also be that I almost always listen to this song as the sun is rising in the mornings, it fits so well.
The entirety of the song builds and builds but it never explodes, it simply exists and lets us bask in the wonderful tones that it produces.  It feels like the second half of knock koenji as it has a similar piano tone to it but the structure is not done in the same manner.  The third track stagnates (not a bad thing) whereas this one has a direction.  Interesting difference and even though they are quite similar in execution the end results are very different destinations.  Just a wonderful song.

Station - Redux - Picking up right where for Yuta left off the final song begins its journey.  This one is really an epic, the longest song on the album and maybe the longest song that no death has written under this name (the longest one I know of).  The notes are simple and fade in and out with effortless ease.  The air is light but there is a semi sombre mood to the notes… as if its period of reflection.  Perhaps we are looking back over the events that preceded this song and are taking it all in as we begin to face whateve lies ahead.
Each one of the songs previous seem to resemble a specific moment in time, a glimpse into a larger journey, and it is finally here at the end of the album that we are able to take it all in, process it and really appreciate what we have done and accomplished.  This is all just speculation but these are the feelings that come within me when I listen to this song, and this album as a whole, and its a major reason why I fell in love with it.
After the period of reflection and contemplation a piano breaks into the song and drives the song with an urgency, no not urgency, excitement is the right word - that we haven’t seen in the album except for maybe Otooto.  The first time I heard this it was quite unexpected since so much of the album to this point had been purely ambient and was only going more so the further in we got.  On top of this percussion was added in to truly solidify that something quite different, this isnt just a moment in time like the rest of the album, this is a journey in and of itself.
Contemplation to excitement, back to reflection.  The piano fades away along side the percussion to give us something akin to atmosphere -space- in that its a pure ambient soundscape.  I get a true weightless sensation from the third movement of the track and it just washes over me time and time again.  It was at this point that I started wondering if the final song of the album is a mini version of the album itself.  It follows a very similar musical narrative.  
Usagi is calm but shows signs of excitement, otooto is truly wonderful and full of joy, many of the remaining songs are purely ambient with minimalist elements.  This is much how the final song on this album goes about telling its story as well, with one major exception, the second phase of the song reprises itself at the very end.  I don’t know what this all means but man is it a trip.  I love this composition and all its different phases.  Just a prefect way to tend the album.  

Overall - Man this one is something special.  There are moments in here of pure joy, so much more than most other albums I’ve heard.  It just expertly crafted and is easily one of my favorite albums from No Death.  I’m really curious about his trip now because this whole thing just exudes positivity and happiness.  I feel like each song on here is a moment in time on his trip to Japan and he wanted to share those moments with us, the listener.  The final song seems like a recollection of all events that happened previous, maybe recalling the events from some point far after they initially happened.

 

Interview

No Death is an interesting moniker to record under.  How did you come to choose this name?  What are you hoping to convey through this name into your music?
 

When the project began, I had recently lost a few important people in my life. I had been speaking with friends about how the presences of those we lose do not vanish. They remain with us in our dreams, memories, the faces of strangers, and so on. However, Over the years I have received responses/interpretations to the name from listeners that differ greatly from one another. I really enjoy this part of the name; it has new meanings for me now, too.

In the notes of Tokyo, Osaka, Kofu, its noted that you visited Japan prior to recording this album, and that this album is the recollection of those events.  Can you tell me about that trip and how it influenced the music that ended up becoming this album?
 

I have spent many years working with Yuta Kudo, also known as Rhucle. We decided to tour Japan together performing both solo and as our duo called The Rubies. Each track represents specific points during the trip. The tracks are ordered chronologically, with the exception of Station (Redux). It was such a special two weeks. The music reflects the emotions that I was having during these specific times, and how the locations and people made me feel. At all times, I felt extremely welcomed and accepted. Japan is a wonderful country.

On Otooto it sounds like the drums and bass were recorded in a studio rather than programmed.  DId you or someone else play these on this and other tracks? How much of your music is performed live rather than preprogrammed?

I programmed the drums for this track, as well as the main bass progression that is playing throughout the track. I did perform the bass solo on a six-string bass guitar. No Death began with all digital instruments programming, but more and more live instrumentation has been integrating into the project over the last two years.

Each one of these songs has its own identity, but they all have this air of innocence and wonderment about them.  Was this intentional? What emotions were you experiencing when composing these songs and what did you want your listeners to feel?

As I think back on the trip, innocence and wonderment were indeed some of the primary themes. I think that those two terms also describe my personality to a certain degree. While I was composing these songs, I was experiencing feelings of great fondness and gratitude for Japan and all of the individuals that worked so hard to make the trip what it was. I was also appreciating the experience as entirely impermanent. I will greatly miss my friends and Japan until the time we meet again, and believe a touch of underlying sadness regarding this fact can be heard in the songs.

The piano used in For Yuta and Knock Koenji are very similar in execution.  They reminded me of a railroad crossing.  I didn’t notice this type of execution anywhere else on the album.  Are these two songs connected somehow?  What were you trying to convey through using the piano in this manner?

These tracks are not connected any more than the rest. I have always enjoyed using performed piano tracks (usually self-recorded) sort of as a drum set. I think the results are always very interesting and expressive

I’ve been asking the artists I interview/review to write the forward to the review, basically just to give a synopsis of what hte album is about.  What does Tokyo, Osaka, Kofu mean to you?  What would you like your listeners to know about his album?

I was shown so much kindness in Japan from my friends, the audiences, venues, the family I stayed with, strangers, and so on. I felt helpless due to the fact that it would be impossible to fully repay them for that. This album was written with two goals in mind: to thank and pay a tribute to those previously mentioned, and create something of a sound diary that would document my trip

The final song Station - Redux is an epic, it's almost as long as all the other songs put together. In my notes I mused that the song almost seems to be a microcosmos of the entire album.  Could you go into what you were thinking when you write this song, and how it ended up becoming so much longer than the others?  Is this song meant to sum up the album?

The original version of this track, titled “Station”, was composed and recorded in Tokyo on the floor of my airbnb. It was the night before we were to perform at Knock Koenji in Tokyo. By that time, I had been in Japan for a week and was feeling very happy and grateful. It was so surreal, and almost felt like a very pleasant dream. The song was performed at Knock Koenji the following evening. The Redux version was completed in the U.S., and while it does not sum up all of the tracks, I wanted it to sum up the experience overall. I think Redux is a more reflective version of the song. I didn’t intend for it to be so long, it just felt right.

Usagi and Otooto have a very active feel to them whereas the remaining songs delve further and further into the ambient side of your songwriting.  Was there a reason that the songs get more ambient as the album progresses?

Absolutely. These two tracks represent the first week of my trip which was full of excitement, nervousness (in a positive way), and lots of learning and moving around. As the trip progressed, my brain settled down a bit and I was able to take everything in. There were lots of lengthy train and bus rides (including an 8 hour bus from Tokyo to Osaka). By the second half of the trip I had also watched many amazingly talented artists that influenced the tracks greatly.

Who is Yuta?  Why dedicate a song to them?

Yuta is Rhucle. He is one of the hardest working individuals I know, both artistically and professionally. We are strongly connected, and have something of a brotherly relationship that I immediately felt when we met in person for the first time in Tokyo. Without Yuta, there would have been no Japan tour, no The Rubies, no Alien Garage (the tape label we co-founded and own together). I owe a lot to him.

What kind of equipment did you use to make this album?

Aside from the live bass solo in Otooto, I used only a laptop and midi-keyboard for this album. It was all I was able to travel and perform with in Japan, so that is how I wanted to record the album, too

What does your music writing process look like?  Is your focus more on composing individual songs or creating an entire album?

I am album-focused. I like to create and put together compositions that could somewhat exist as one long piece of music. However, with this album, I actually wrote out the track list and titles before composing any of the music. I did this to ensure that I was able to create songs for very specific places and people and give them the individual attention they deserved.

What type of music and/or artists have influenced you the greatest?  And where do you see your music evolving from where it is now?

I am primarily influenced by jazz, world, and ambient/experimental music. To name a few of many artists that have influenced me: Mark Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon, Rhucle, Pat Metheny, Yellowjackets, and Collections of Colonies of Bees.-My music is beginning to incorporate more live instrumentation. I could possibly see it becoming almost entirely live instruments

Is there anything further you would like to share about your music or your other projects?

I suppose the only thing I would like to share at this point is my appreciation for those who spend any amount of time listening to my music. Time is 100% non-refundable, and listeners spend it when they are consuming art. This fact is ever-present in my mind and I can’t say enough about how grateful I am.